Medieval India and medieval Europe--- A study in contrast

Dr N K Srinivasan

Introduction

Several volumes have been written about the political, social and religious history of
the Middle Ages in Europe. Several historical studies have been made on the medieval
political and religious history of India, especially relating to Hindu and Buddhist
religions. There is hardly any work or studies contrasting the two, except for passing
mention.. Hence this article. . The period considered here is roughly between 9th century
and 14th century BCE.

Middle ages in Europe is marked by feudalism, illiteracy and, religious strife and
schism in the Christian world. The renaissance in Italy marked the end of this
backwardness . The influence of the Roman Catholic Church, the protestant movements
of Martin Luther and others, the expanding international trade,especially from Italy
---these are significant aspects of the Middle ages in Europe.…These changes were
greatly influenced by the invention of printing press by Gutenberg and the spread of
literacy, and the new knowledge that came from Arab countries, through Spain into
Europe.

In India, the medieval times were marked by the upsurge of religious movements,
especially the Bhakti or devotional traditions, use of vernacular or local languages and
the widespread prosperity among the masses with the relative political stability in various
kingdoms. The onslaught of Afghan and central asian rulers on Indian plains in the North,
the conquest of Muhamed of Ghazni and Ghor were to happen in the later part of this
medieval period.. The general decline in the economic prosperity , except in certain
kingdoms, started only after 14th century…[Even then, Vijayanagara Empire in the
southern Deccan region was a land of prosperity between 13th and 16th centuries.]

The main point of contrast is that the Hindu kingdoms in the medieval India were places
of high civilization, with highly developed literary and religious institutions and also
kingdoms which were not only stable but having trade and commerce, not only within
India, but with Italy, Arabia, Persia [Iran] ,Iraq and south -east Asia—Malaysia,
Indonesia and Cambodia..
Contrast that with the Medieval Europe with widespread illiteracy, very little literary and
artistic output except for ecclesiastical/liturgical studies of the Christian monasteries and
mostly feudal life under serfdom, steeped in religious bigotry and anti-semitism.

Medieval Kingdoms of India

The kingdoms in central India, especially around Ujjain, the Harsha empire and its
principalities, the Chola kingdom in 10th and 11 th century in the Cauvery river delta in

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Tamil Nadu, The Pandyan kingdom in the deep south, the Kingdoms of Chalukyas
[present Karnataka ] and the Rashtrakutas [near Warangal , Andhra] were places of high
artistic and literary achievements….While the Cholas excelled in temple architecture , the
Chalukyas were excelling in ornaments, fine arts and literary works.

It is difficult to put a numerical figure for the literacy among the public in those
days...But the number of poetical works, both religious and secular, are pretty
large….Every king supported writing literary works; learned sammelans or sadas
[conferences and seminars, debates and competitions ] were regularly held. Religious
mathas or seminaries trained young men in Sanskrit and local languages with huge output
of religious literature that one would think that sizeable percentage of youth of upper
castes were literates and minor scholars..It is noteworthy that the literacy was not
confined to high class Brahmin priestly families, but included traders and peasants.

These mathas or mutts were supported by land grants [‘manyam’] and endowments by
the local kings and chieftains and pious nobles. The devotional literature was enormous
in local languages, due to saints who roamed the countryside and spread the religious
literature.

The wandering sadhus and munis [monks] spread not only the religious culture, but also
the knowledge of poetry and prose works among the common masses;the evening
discourses in temples and village commons were part of the social milieu in almost all
kingdoms.Other means of spreading literacy and knowledge ,we shall explore in later
sections.
It is true that the kings were constantly fighting with their neighbors and trying to expand
their suzerainty all along. Some Tamil kings made periodic invasions into Sri Lanka
[Ceylon] and Malayasia too. They spread their influence far into the present Cambodia
and part of Indonesia…

Religious Harmony and Scholarship

The three major religions in medieval times in India were Hinduism, Buddhism and
Jainism. The latter two religions are off-shoots of Hinduism, but had developed distinct
set of doctrines and modes of worship. So,they could not be integrated with Hinduism.
Buddhism was founded by Gautama, the Buddha [Sakyamuni] while Jainism was mainly
developed from earlier roots by Mahavira who was a contemporary of Lord Buddha…In
some regions, the Buddhist sects were subsumed into Hindu sects, by including Lord
Buddha as one of the avatars or incarnations of Lord Vishnu of Hinduism. While
Buddhism was strong along the east coast and in Bihar, Jainism was more prevalent in
the north-west region, in Rajasthan and in Gujarat.As it is well-known, during the regin
of Ashoka, Buddhist monks were sent to Ceylon [Sri Lanka] and eastern nations to
spread Buddhism.Thus Buddhism became dominant religion in China, Thailand or Siam
and Burma [Myanmar] and other places.

In the middle ages –that is 9th to 14th century—these three religions coexisted with large
following in almost every city or town. Scholars from the three religions freely

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participated in discussions and also in writing translations/commentaries on each other’s
religious scriptures and their philosophical texts. Much of the regional vernacular
literature is a mixture of works of different religious scholars . In cities like
Kancheepuram [50 kms from Chennai] one had separate towns for the religious groups in
close proximity. Several scholars had academies to teach and preach their sectarian views
on their religion. The scholars were free to move from one tradition or sect to another
during their lifetime.

There were instances of religious strife and even persecutions between the dominant
religions in certain kingdoms….but they did not last long or spread much, unlike anti-
semitic cruelty or bitter fights between Catholics and Protestants in western Europe.
There was no systematic persecution or ghetto like segregations in India.
One hears that many kings married women from different religions and we can be sure
that their courtiers also intermarried. It was not uncommon for a king to be a Hindu
while his queen was a Buddhisit or a Jain..The religious groups as such were tolerant and
gave room for wide class of views that the kind of Inquisition and Reformation in
Western Europe is unheard of in Indian/Hindu milieu. Some kings and local chieftains
were overzealous about their religious convictions that they indulged in brutal practices.
There is an instance when several jain monks were impaled in Tami Nadu in 10th
century.But such despotic rulers were soon replaced by more tolerant or enlightened
monarchs.

The scholarship one notices during this period is enormous---with huge output of
religious and secular literature, with several commentaries on sacred scriptures…Many
were written in local languages---Tamil,Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam,Hindustani,various
dialects of Hindi,besides Sanskrit. They even developed hybrid languages like
‘manipravala’ dialect with mixture of Tamil and Sanskrit. I cannot even list the literary
works here, but only point the interested reader to the following book:
A History of South India by K A Nilakanta Sastri [Oxford Univ press]

Wealth in the Medieval India

There is a common misconception that India had always been a poor country with a
large population and with lack of proper governance under various rajas or kings.
Another misconception is that only the British during their rule [under the company rule
and under the British crown] provided a system of governance along with proper
administrative system.. Both the misconceptions would be dispelled if one considers the
numerous public works built during the medieval times [canals, lakes, dams and bridges,
roads and highways with lodging inns or sarai along the way or ],hundreds of temples
with tall, magnificent gopurams or towers, numerous bronze icons and utility wares,
costly jewels which were the ornaments for the temple gods and goddesses [gold inlaid
with gems including diamonds and emeralds] and for princely families ,temple roofs
made of gold sheets, and numerous artifacts such as brocade sarees and silver vessels,…
even the caparisoned elephants had numerous jewels on their body when taken in
procession….The Indian kings had an excellent system of measuring land and taxing

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farmers, issue of coins, custom services , postal services, and general administration,
including local police and judicial system.
There was a steady stream of wealth in to their coffers, except when monsoon failed,
crops withered and famine struck the land.

In fact, it was the systematic looting of British governors and minor officials in 17th and
18th centuries that led to poverty in slow and steady manner.…While the Muslim rulers
plundered and also diamonds were taken from Golconda [near Hyderabad] and nearby
mines, the wealth remained within India [except for Kohinoor diamond which was taken
away by Nadir Shah to Persia (Iran}]; but the Britishers took their loot to distant
England ;many of the precious jewels, including Kohinoor diamond ,adorn the British
museums or crown jewels.

[According to one author , [James Burke] , the East India Company regularly made up to
400,000 pounds of profit a year, and on one decade, between 1757 and 1766, the
company and its employees amassed nearly 6000,000 pounds in ‘gifts’ from India…India
became a market for steel, cotton goods and other commodities from England…It is
obvious that the British systematically drained India, the major colony, the crown-jewel
of the British Empire’ , of its wealth.]

(It was noted by several foreign visitors that Vijayanagara Empire was one of the richest
in the world at that time. Diamonds and precious gems were sold in the open road-side
stalls like common items.Vijayanagara Kings had regular trade with Portugal.)

[It should be noted that India still possesses huge quantities of gold and precious jewels
as part of the assets of temples, big and small ,and some small quantities stashed away in
the private estates of former princely families….For instance, Nizam of Hyderabad
possessed so much wealth and jewelry that a proper accounting may not be possible at
this time.]

Education in Medieval India

The educational process was well structured at that time. The school education consisted
of courses in literature, grammar, logic, astronomy, mathematics, accounting and other
academic subjects, besides religious scriptures for the priestly class. Here again there is a
misconception that the education was only of religious kind. Several trades were taught
relating to different professions. There were several guilds to train apprentices to develop
artisans and craftsmen to make wooden and metal objects. The objects were items of
common uitility, as well as those for worship and temple rituals like bells and bronze
idols.
Women’s education took a back seat though, but in some kingdoms,women were
encouraged to study literature and teach.There were many notable women poets and

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scholars.The queens were generally well-educated in the royal households; some were
philosophers too, like Bharati, wife of Mandana Mishra who argued with Adi Sankara.

Maritime trade
The Pallavas [6th to 9th century] and the Cholas were sea-faring people. Therefore ship
building was well developed. Temple architecture played an important role. Kings
invested huge sums for these two activities and several hundreds of craftsmen and
engineers were trained in these engineering disciplines.[Consider the magnificent temples
of this period in Tamil Nadu which are durable even today and are major tourist
attractions.] It was common practice to commemorate a victory after conquest by
building a new temple and consecrating it to King’s favorite deity.

The Chola kings built wooden ships which sailed to Arabia, Egypt and Italy… [It is
known that Queen Cleopatra of Egypt imported not only jewels and muslin from the
South India, but also delicacies such as spiced food and peacocks for meat in the first
century.]
The Romans had brisk trade with the Cholas and the sea-ports at Kaveri-poom-
pattinam , Tranquebar, Nagapattinam, Oriyur along the east coast were rich with
imported goods. What is more, the Cholas had a well- developed system of collecting
custom duties.
The Cholas employed ‘yavanas’ or foreigners for security guards and African soldiers to
guard check posts and train local militia.Abysynnian eunuchs were employed as palace
guards, especially to guard women’s harem.! The Arabian horses were often traded for
Indian elephants….Roman coins regularly turn up during archaelogical excavations in
Tamil Nadu. These coins date from first century AD.

In the 13th century, the Chola king invited Turkish [Seljuk] traders from Ottoman
empire .[1212 BCE]. Several Turkish traders and their Islamic missionaries settled in
Tranquebar or Thangambadi near Nagapattinam in the east coast. The early acceptance
of Islamic faith into the society , which did not spread much beyond that region, is to be
noted .
Thus religious tolerance and acceptance has been the characteristic feature of Hindus
during the Medieval period.
[Note that a Jewish settlement had been made in the west coast in Mumbai and in Cochin
and a small group of families still exist in Cochin, though many went to Israel after
1945.]

Conquests of Medieval Kings

The Cholas tried to conquer the present Malaysia which was called ‘kadaram’ in Tamil
literature. Malaysia was at that time ruled by several chieftains, contained large tribal
population and thick forests. The Chola kings also spread Hindu religion and
philosophies there, by sending several scholars and by founding of temples and mathas
[seminaries and monasteries.] The worship of Lord Muruga or Karthikeya, a son of Lord
Shiva in the Hindu pantheon, became well established in Malaya.

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A similar wave of invasion and planting of Hindu religion took place in Cambodia which
was ruled by Hindu kings and had several Hindu temples in Angwar wat. Temple
complex…[The Buddhist influence came much later to Cambodia from Myanmar or
Burma.].

The Chola and Chera kings from Tamil Nadu and the present Kerala states made several
forays into Sri Lanka or Ceylon which was predominantly a Buddhist nation. Most of the
Buddhist monks came from Kalinga or present Orissa in India to spread the religion.
Historians hold the view that the main aim of the Tamil kings was to plunder the rich
Buddhist temples with gold icons and precious gems, especially emeralds.
The Hindu kings returned with their booty of gold to be used in fabulous Hindu temples
we find in Tamil Nadu today. During such invasions , they also established Hindu
colonies ,with worship of Shiva and his son Murugan or Karthikeya as favorite deities , in
the northern parts [Jaffna] of the island.

Religious Revival of the Hindus

Among the major religions, Buddhism was predominant throughout India between 9th
and 11th centuries. This religion declined steadily due to corrupt practices, viciousness ,
indecent behavior and various bizarre tantric cults in its monasteries. With this decline,
the followers of Buddhism dwindled rapidly.
[Though many scholars attribute decline of Buddhism to the work of Adi Shankara and
his polemics of Advaita philosophy, Buddhism destroyed itself in India—the land of its
birth ; Adi Shankara’s work is like the hammer blow on a decadent Buddhist religion.
But Buddhist religion was already crumbling at the time of Shankara and lingered on for
further two centuries as a minor religion after Adi Sankara.]

It is also true that Adi Shankara culled out the advaitic teachings from the Upanishads
in the light of Buddhist doctrines and refashioned them for Hindu consumption!]

Jainism, due to its austere living style, was less adopted and became a minor religion in
most parts of India, except in desert regions of Rajasthan and in coastal Karnataka. It is
also true that with the rise of Shaivism [worship of Shiva] in Tamil Nadu due to its
numerous saints and savants, Jainism was literally wiped out from Tamil Nadu. There
was some persecution of Jain monks too. It had considerable influence in Karnataka
during the middle ages; again it was weakened there by the preaching of Sri Ramanuja in
Melkote for twelve years when he was in exile from Sri Rangam ; then the jains were
persecuted and converted a bit and moved to coastal Karnataka near Mangalore. Sri
Ramanuja converted Bitti Deva of Hassan into Hindu religion ,rechristened him as
‘Vishnuvardhana’ but his wife, the highly educated dancer Shantala remained a Jain and
supported that religion and its temples.]

The time was ripe for revival of Hinduism after 9th century BCE. Hinduism owes its re-
surgence to the three great Acharyas or preceptors in the middle ages: Adi Shankara
[788-820 BCE, the commonly accepted dates], Sri Ramanuja [1017 to 1137] and Sri

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Madhwa [ 1238-1317 ].These acharyas redefined Hindu doctrines in terms of their
interpretation of ancient scriptures--- the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita
and the Brhama sutras. The acharyas were separated by two centuries each. But they,
together, spanned the entire middle age. [They were followed by lesser known acharyas
---Vallabha, and Nimbarka,]

We need not dwell on the philosophical implications of their teachings; instead, what is
relevant here is the social impact of their works on medieval India..

All the three acharyas emphasized the devotional aspect of Hindu religion. They gave
impetus for worshipping idols in the temples, besides contemplation and meditation on
the Supreme or Brahman. They formulated the singing of hymns and chanting of mantras
or sacred syllables. Adi Shankara is credited with the formalized worship of six gods of
the Hindu pantheon—‘Shanmatha-sthapaka’. He worshipped at numerous temples in the
west coast which are great pilgrim centers today…Sri Ramanuja renovated hundreds of
Vishnu temples with the establishment of administrators and formal routines for worship
with annual calendar of festivals. He expanded the large temple complex at Sri Rangam,
the seat of his matha or ministry---in fact ,one of the largest temple campuses in the
world today ,and also the highly venerated temple in Tirupathi and numerous Vishnu
temples in Kanchipuram. Sri Madhwa promoted several temples devoted to Lord
Krishna and expanded the influence of the Sri Krishna temple at Udupi and in western
districts of Karnataka state.

The three acharyas also founded several mathas where the young ones were trained in
scriptures and formal worship, headed by Pontiffs---like seminaries. Adi Shankara
helped to found four mathas in four corners of India [Dwaraka, Puri,Bhadrinath, and
Shringeri] and numerous branch mathas in different zones. Sri Ramanuja established
nearly 60 mathas throughout, including several in central India around Varanasi and
Gujarat and in Haridwar. Sri Madhwa established monastic orders to found eight mathas
in and around Udupi and several by latter day saints. Adi Sankara is credited with the
revival of ten orders of monks.

The acharyas did much more. They provided for the maintenance of numerous
temples ,with the munificence of local kings and nobles; and for the annual festivals in
those temples. They propagated the simple means of singing hymns [sankirtan] of Lord’s
glory and the puranic (mythical) tales.

As a result , the Hindu religion reached the masses. Besides scriptural studies , they
promoted singing hymns in local languages. Hundreds of saints of humble origins,
drawn from different castes, illumined the religious firmament. These Saints with their
simple songs in local dialects spread the religious culture among traders , peasants and
out-castes who were denied the rights to enter the temples or even read the scriptures.
Thus Hindu religion was no more confined to the scholarly and priestly class of
Brahmins, with their exclusivity and penchant for Sanskrit scholarship.

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By this time, vegetarianism became wide spread ,though there was no coercion to
become vegetarians…Most devout sects adopted vegetarian food. Jains have remained
strict vegetarians, while Buddhists ,not necessarily so. Present day Hindus are a mixture
of vegetarians and non-vegetarians,based on the family and caste restrictions.

Animal sacrifice in temples also decreased, though practiced in some temples of

goddesses, called Shakti..[Animal sacrifice to the goddess is still in vogue in certain
temples , including the Kamakya temple in Guwahati,Assam.] The practice of tantra ,
with weird customs and sexual perversions, during the latter period of Buddhism, was
largely gone or had gone underground in certain covens.

With enormous economic growth and religious revival , middle ages in India was a
period of peace and high culture. One can easily contrast this with the widespread
illiteracy and backwardness of feudalistic medieval society in the west.

Temple as the focus of culture in Medieval India

Temple culture is central to understanding the medieval life and richness of cultural
moorings in medieval India
Temples have been built with the main purpose of worship of gods by the general
public. While most temples were public property, some were attached to King’s palaces
as private temples or chapels, maintained by the royal family, but open to public.

. While the literacy levels may have been low, temples provided much learning and
record keeping for the lay people .I shall dwell on this because this illustrates the way the
religious fervor was taught and communicated to a large population.

All temples were constructed out of granite blocks except some built with sand stone or
soap stones and other softer stones.[Many temples in Kerala are of wooden construction
with brick walls.]….The temple walls and the outer compound walls were of thick
granite slabs. The rajas and the nobles employed thousands of stone cutters and inscribers
to write hymns, historical facts, endowments made by kings and even details of dynastic
rule and battle records on these walls…the stories of saints and sages and their works
were also inscribed, sometime along with nice fresco/mural paintings. These
epigraphical records have remained the main means of communicating the religious and
social activities .Such records tell us not only about the historical events but also social
aspects such as the grant of villages for specific purposes, for instance, to maintain
temples, major undertakings like new settlements or creation of villages and endowments
to the temples, construction of temple towers.

Temples also served as the cultural meeting place for musicians and dancers….They
supported musicians and dancers who would play before the sanctum sanctorum in a
mandapam or hall [with stone walls and pillars, of course] ,called ‘Sabha mandap’, with a
view to entertain the Lord or presiding deity. But such performances were meant to
entertain the general public as well , thronging the temple for worship and induce divine
fervor by religious themes in dance and plays. The temple halls or sabha mantaps were
often huge, with large number of pillars to extend to a few hundred feet. Halls with

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thousand pillars are found in big temples in the south. Most of them were built during the
middle ages.
There were separate halls for religious discourses or scholarly debates [Vidwat sadas] and
for reading of scriptures.

[These practices of music and dancing have continued well into modern
times, though often degenerated into frivolous and lecherous activities by
the temple authorities and priests. In many states of India, the system of
maintaining devadasis or official temple (female) dancers have been
abolished by legislation.]

Needless to add that these activities associated with temples bring forth the
high level of education and culture in the middle ages. With the onslaught of
muslim ruler since the 11th century, the temples had lost their glory. The
flowering of Hindu dynastic rule in Vijayanagar [between 13th and 16th
century] was like the last flicker; The Vijayanagara rulers ,especially
Krishnadeva Raya, who ruled between 1509-1529, is credited with
renovating and reconstructing many temples which had decayed.

Temple Administration

Temples had their own system of administration which speak of a well-

ordered structure .This structure has been the back-bone of Hindu tradition
and culture for more than a thousand years. The local kings or rajas and
emperors supported this structure with generous dispositions.

Temple authorities maintained religious schools for young scholars. The

training usually lasted for twelve years; this was the training ground for
philosophers, preachers and temple priests. It should be noted that many of
these were financially supported by endowments and land grants [manyam]
which were through the offer of entire villages to the temple assets. Several
nobles also made such grants to temples.

The three great acharyas mentioned earlier and other acharyas instituted a
system of governance for the temples that are operative even today….They
established orders of monks. The monks ,in turn, became the Pontiffs of
temples and their monasteries . Schools of Philosophy or academies were
part of the mathas or monasteries and seminaries to train future monks and
lay scholars.

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 Though universities as developed in the medieval Europe did not arise,
these schools or ‘vidyapeeths’ [‘seats of learning’ ] served as advanced
centers of learning where lay scholars also studied. Periodic conferences or
‘sadas’ were held to discuss topics of interest. These schools were centers of
publication of books, in manuscript form, using palm leaves and vegetable
[organic] inks.
The pontiffs also had the additional responsibility of preaching in nearby
villages and towns, often extending to several hundred miles. They made the
rounds with special tours called dig-vijays , supported by local nobles, often
on foot or borne in palanquins.

Temple Architecture
The temple architecture involved complex construction .Temples had several corridors
of great width. {The width was invariably decided by the width of the processions taken
around the temple with caparisoned elephants and palanquins.}The temples were of
rectangular or square shape, with several concentric corridors, leading to the inner
temple or shrine. For instance ,the Vishnu temple at Sri Rangam [neat Trichy in Tamil
Nadu] is of nearly 120 acres in area, with seven square corridors ,parallel to each
other,one within another..
There would be several shrines within a temple for different gods. The sculptures adorn
the outer walls of each shrine.

Almost every temple had a large water tank to provide water for the pilgrims and for
the temple. Some of the temple tanks are very large , with nearly 4 square kilometers in
area. The temple tank porivded drinking water forhomes nearby or for the entire
town.Annual temple festivals would include a “float festival’ in which the icon of the
presiding deity is kept on a wooden float on the tank and taken round the tank .In some
temples, two tanks were provided…the inner one only for religious purposes and the
outer for general public.

Art and craft in the medieval India

This is a very large topic that could fill a volume. I shall touch upon the sculptures and
metalcraft that was well developed .Much of the sculpture seen today originated in the

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middle ages [9th to 14th century] as part of temple culture. The sculptures were not all
religious or serious motif. While many depicted the stories of gods and lives of saints,
several were secular like the dancing women, richly attired and decked with jewels,
ordinary men and women in market place, like flower sellers, and, of course , battle
scenes.The sculptures started as rock-cut relief or murals on the face of hill, then single
,isolated pieces that were made separately and fixed on the walls or cut in relief on walls
and pillars. The story of Lord Buddha , the scenes from Lord Krishna’s life and Lord
Vishnu’s ten incarnations or avatars are most common themes for sculpture and paintings
of that period.

As in Medieval Europe, metal craftsmen made objects for temple rituals and palace
needs. The most common metal objects were the bronze bells for temples and polished
bronze mirrors for aristocratic ladies…Canons did not make their appearance yet; but
they produced various kinds of swords, shields and spears. One also finds a vast
assortment of brass locks used in one of the forts in Rajasthan. Another object found in
many palaces is the water jars of enormous size ,especially to store Ganga water for
princes. All these artifacts go to show that metal craft was highly developed in the
Medieval India and there were hundreds of metal craftsmen in all big towns.

Weaving and knitting--- producing very soft muslin cloth and also brocade sarees and
vestments-- were highly developed. Silk cloth was expensive , but considered holy and
frequently mentioned in the religious literature. It was used for ceremonial occasions and
for decorating the idols in the temple. Rich shawls and carpets were made in large
quantities and used for special days and were exported in large numbers.

Village Administration
It should be noted that the village administration was highly decentralized. The system of
‘panchayats’—with a committee of five [‘panch’] elders , duly elected by people ran the
village. The election process was simple--- the village folk dropped pieces of parchment
with the names of the candidates chosen into a large clay pot. The counting of votes was
done by the elders later. The ‘sarpanch’ or the leader of the five was selected…he was
virtually the dictator for the village!.

The Panchayat decided all the factors such as taxation, local administration like the
maintenance of roads and irrigation canals and granaries, and also settling disputes
among farmers and marital issues. The sarpanch acted as local magistrate and judge--- a
practice found even today in many Indian villages. They kept the land records. Though
the crippling caste system prevailed, citizens could get a fair trial in land disputes and
property litigations. The Panchayat , in most villages, controlled the administration of
several temples..
The Panchayats maintained the autonomy of the villages or cluster of villages.
The kings , for the most part, oversaw these activities and took surplus produce with
fixed levy from each village…The Panchayat system, to a large extent, remained the
bulwark of morality and decency in rural life, irrespective of vagrant behavior of some
princes… [This system survived through the British days with several modifications and

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Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Indian Prime minister, tried to revive the system to its
past glory.]
With the Punchayat system functioning in most villages, the village administration in
medieval India was a far cry from the control of villages by barons and manor houses of
Medieval Europe.

Economic Conditions

The economic prosperity of medieval India was largely a result of political stability and
of educational and cultural achievements of its elites. Though there were several battles
between neighboring kings , the village structure ,as explained above, remained stable.
The farmers grew food, tended cattle and sheep, built tanks,dams and canals, kept
gardens and orchards, unmindful of the wars. The forest cover was undisturbed.

The average villager respected nature, in fact worshipped in his own naïve way,
followed the season’s variations with care and was mindful of environmental factors and
ecological balance….For instance, he protected the snake population with some rituals so
that the population of frogs and rats would be in check. He supported a large peacock
population so that the snake population would be stable. The bird population was again
nurtured so that the insect growth was in balance…..[Even today,in many parts of
Rajasthan ,peacocks will not be killed by local people.] Worship of sun god and the
harvest festivals, as thanksgiving, are part of village culture, cutting across caste barriers.

It should be noted that the population figures were low in middle ages. A big city like
Kanchipuram near Chennai, with separate quarters for Shaivites, Vishnu worshippers and
Buddhists, had only less than a million people.

Pilgrimages
The significance of pilgrimages cannot be underestimated in those times. Hindus were
always eager to undertake long pilgrimages during their life time. Thus a devout Hindu
was enjoined to travel on foot from Benaras [Varanasi] in the North to Rameshwaram at
the tip of peninsular South India at least once in his lifetime. He would offer worship at
many temples in between the two cities. Such pilgrimages brought about a deeper
understanding of cultural and religious factors in the diverse practices of Hindus.A
pilgrim passed through several kingdoms and regions with different local languages or
vernaculars. A pilgrimage promoted national unity under the deeper currents of Hindu
religion. The hospitality shown to a pilgrim on his way to Benaras or Rameshwaram is
legendary. This had persisted for centuries ,but for the last one century or so.A pilgrim or
guest ,’aditi’ was a worshipful person as the saying goes: “Aditi devo bhava!”.,
Some of the pilgrims were wandering minstrels, much like the troubadours of medieval
Europe, singing ballads and hymns, drawn from Hindu mythology and stories of heroic
kings and saints.
In purely economic terms, pilgrimage increased tourist traffic , especially to temple towns
and earned revenues for local population. There were ‘choultries’ [lodging houses] near

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temples, mostly free of charge, run by mathas and by charitable houses. While most
people undertook pilgrimages on foot, rich families traveled in bullock carts or horse-
drawn carriages. The average pilgrim was a family man traveling with his entire family,
with women and children, often accompanied by aged parents and relatives.

Pilgrims made huge offerings at temples in terms of gold ornaments studded with
precious gems and diamonds for the presiding deities. Thus we find very expensive
jewelry in almost all temples in India today. They also built lodging houses for other
pilgrims. Some undertook religious penance , which could mean walking barefoot from
their village to holy shrines , carrying a sack on their heads.!

In contrast, the villagers in Medieval Europe remained isolated in the country-side

,confined by the lords of manor houses. Only Crusades [to Balkans, Instanbul and
Jerusalem] and later excursions to Spain after the fall of Arab rulers there, opened up
their travels to distant countries and newer cultures. Historians add that the crusaders
were surprised at the enormous progress in these eastern nations.While pilgrims in India
were family men, the crusades were only of soldiers and villagers taken into army.

It was common for a pious Hindu to make annual pilgrimages to holy shrines as part of
religious vows. The annual festivals in temples, such as car festival [Rath Yathra] at Puri
near Cuttack attracted several lakhs of devotees. [1 lakh= 100,000] .Such large festivals
were the meeting ground of many scholars,monks and pontiffs who will hold religious
discourses for the lay people gathered in thousands in open grounds near the temples.

Science and technology in Medieval India

Science and technology were quite advanced in medieval India. The particular areas of
great proficiency were the following:
--astronomy ,and related mathematics and physics,especially optics;
--medicine---especially surgery , including plastic surgeries, and pharmacology (herbal
medicines), prosthetic devices…
--biology as related to agriculture ,including plant breeding, animal breeding , bee-
keeping.

It must be emphasized here that much of astronomy and mathematics attributed to Arab
scholars in the west were originally developed in India ---picked up by Arabs, translated
into Arabic languages, this knowledge traveled to Spain. From their Latin translations
moved to northern Europe, from Cordoba and Toledo. Thus Arabic numerals, use of
decimal system with the invention of zero, solving algebraic equations and trigonometry
were products of Indian mathematical genius. Thus sine value tables of trigonometry was
known in India and regularly used in astronomy and for astrological predictions.
Prediction of eclipses was commonplace here. This dispelled wrong notions about the
eclipses. [At the same time, the lay public still had fancy notions about the eclipses.---the
solar eclipse was pictured as swallowing of the sun by the planet Rahu, the snake.The
eclipse duration was considered as polluting to a person and people were advised to take

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bath after the eclipse and offer prayers to the Sun god. Such practices are in vogue to this
day!]

Many mathematicians did original work in algebra, geometry and trigonometry.

People used decimal numbers for counting and for all business calculations. This system
was later copied by Arab travelers and scholars who introduced them in Persia [Iran] and
elsewhere. Thus Arabic numerals were born .This system later spread to Spain and from
there , into northern Europe.

Indian mathematicians also made developments in trigonometry. Their singular

achievement was making tables of trigonometric functions such as sine tables which were
essential for astronomy and astrological computations.
It should be noted that the expansion of trigonometric functions in terms of angles was
first given by Madhava of Kerala. This was later named after Gregory, who was
contemporary of Sir Isaac Newton. In fact modern texts call this series: Madhava-
Gregory series. [See my article---Madhava-the originator of calculus” in
www.scribd.com ]The concept of limit of a function was introduced by Madhava who is
claimed to be the early originator of real analysis or calculus, two centuries before
Newton.

The Indian doctors were highly skilled in the practice of surgery. Sushruta was the
famous surgeon who employed a number of surgical implements [about 125 implements]
which are identified today. The native doctors performed delicate operations including
plastic surgery and eye surgery.The herbal medicines were highly developed. These
doctors used natural anti-septic lotions as we do today following the work of Lister and
Louis Pasteur in modern medicine.

In medieval India, the extraction of iron, copper and zinc from its ores by simple
furnaces [mostly using charcoal or coal as fuel] were regularly practiced in several parts
of India.The metal artisans made vessels, locks, ship parts and soldier’s equipment.
Much of this technology survived till the early beginning of the British rule---to about
18th century. Then these were destroyed by the British company men to support their
own industry in Britain. [There are accounts of iron smelters using charcoal near Salem
in Tamil Nadu till 1825. Of course such production was small-scale and would not be
able to compete with the steel mills of Britain.]

India had its own reputation for spinning and weaving with hand operated machines
and looms. Cotton cloth of fine variety or muslins and lot of silk clothes were regularly
made and also exported to the Arab world. [Fortunately this technology had survived.
The handloom industry, though a small-scale and cottage industry, was encouraged by
free India [after 1947] and had grown into a major industry in Tamil Nadu and
elsewhere , offering employment for millions.]

Military Technology

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 In medieval India, military technology was much advanced with better weapons and
construction of formidable forts. The weapons were mostly hand operated ones. Both
elephants and horses were important arms of defense , in addition to infantry [foot]
soldiers and the use of chariots in earlier periods….Chariots were ,of course, horse-
drawn.
An important element of warfare was construction of forts. Hundreds of forts were built
in India in various kingdoms. Many of them remain today as grim reminders of past glory
and monuments to heroic deeds. Thus the prominent forts are in Jaipur, Jodhpur,
Gwalior, Vellore, Golconda (near Hyderabad), Srirangapatnam [seringapatam] near
Mysore] [ and Gingee, Shivaji forts in Maharashtra and the Red forts, the Agra fort of
latter period.] These are ,indeed, major tourist attractions today. Golconda fort near
Hyderabad is well preserved and is typical of medieval forts. Golconda assumed
importance because of very active diamond mining . In fact Kohinoor diamond is
supposed to have been mined there.The mines were extensively exploited till the end of
Mughal period. It is noteworthy that Aurengazeb stayed in Golconda after laying the fort
in siege .

We shall briefly describe the construction of these forts, which were in many ways
similar to the medieval forts in Europe.
The forts in India were made of granite stones or slabs.The fort walls were surrounded
by a moat, infested with crocodiles. The forts had large fields inside to grow food and
granaries to store during long siege by the enemy. The means of attacking the enemy was
to shower him with spears and javelins from the ramparts and pour hot oil went he
entered the gate. Yes, the fort gates were important.
Large wooden gates with metallic spears or nails were constructed. In medieval times
,the elephants were tasked to break open the gate, often with ramming rods used by foot
soldiers. Battering rams were later inventions.In most cases, a siege to the fort ended
when the food stored inside the fort got exhausted..

Indian princes were not skilled in breeding horses.Though horses were deployed in
warfare since the time of Ramayana, the horses used in medieval times were imported
from Arabia at high prices. There were ,therefore, always Arab horse traders in every
capital of princely states.[Legends have it that they not only brought Arabian war horses,
but also fair skinned, voluptuous Arab women for princes and their courtiers as
concubines for their harem.] The traders introduced Islamic culture and religion right
from the Prophet’s time. They also brought many agricultural plants for cultivation in
India. We are told that one of the descendants of Prophet Mahomed came to India to
preach and he also introduced coffee plantation in the Chickmagalur area of Karnataka.
There were ,of course, several sufi saints moving into India from Middle east, through
Afgahnistan into India to preach their religion in medieval times. A wholesome effect
was the introduction of the Islamic system of medicine called Unani medicines , practiced
even today.

There are accounts of medieval kings employing Abyssynian {Ethiopian] slaves/eunuchs

as security guards in palaces,in harems and in ports. They also employed hundreds of
strong south African soldiers to impart military training and also guard certain places.

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Indian Medicine

Indian medicine, essentially herbal medicine, is called “Ayurveda” which literally means
“Science or knowledge of Life” [‘Ayur’-life,ved-knowledge] In Ayurveda, herbal
medicines are prepared and used in many ways. The medieval doctors had perfected the
means of preparing these medicines. For instance, leaves from medicinal/herbal plants
were dried in the sun and crushed into powders. The powders were used as such
[churnam] or extracts were made .[kashayam] by boiling or steam distillation or mixing
with hot oils.They also prepared some by fermenting and decanting the herbal mixes.
The common spices and herbs used include: turmeric, pepper, ginger, cardamom,
cinnamon, basil, cumin, fenugreek, mint and gooseberry [amla] .For some herbs ,bark of
trees/plants are used;for instance, cinnamon barks.They also used some ingredients from
lacquers or rubber from plants and extracts from rocks, oily shale [shilajit] or certain
clays.Some herbal stuff and nuts were soaked in hot oil,which was used to treat
patients.Sometimes a warm oil bath was prescribed so that the skin would absorb the
drugs.

The Indian doctors also made preparations from finely powdered metals, often
dissolved in mercury amalgams.This fine dust of gold and silver [busmam] were added to
medicines.It is important to note these were in very small quantities and in finely divided
form. They also used thin foils made by hammering soft metals like gold and silver, as
wrappers for medicines for extra effects.

Besides herbal preparations, Aurvedic doctors did use certain animal products, like
tissues from birds and animals ,much like the Chinese medicines.The development of
these medicines were based on empirical studies and experiments at which they were
experts. Note that the potency of herbal medicines could vary due to conditions of growth
of these plants, climatic conditions and soil conditions and there could be wide variation
in the essential ingredients.The doctors had their own farms and did testing in specific
ways…Much secrecy was maintained in the use and preparation of these drugs.
In medieval times, this knowledge was passed on in their own families, from father to son
or uncle to nephew…Yet much general information was made known so that different
schools can develop and test their own products…Treatises like Charaka Samhita
contained much information for generations of Ayurvedic doctors.

Village professions and the caste system

During the medieval period, the bulk of the population lived in villages. My estimate is
about 90% or higher.[At the time of independence of India from British rule in 1947,the
figure was 80% rural population.The present figure is about 70%] The main activity was
agriculture for most villagers.The city population was very small---most cities had only

16
100 to 200 thousand persons.The city population also included the ‘floating’ population
of traders, tourists and pilgrims.Therefore the effective urban population was very small.

We have already discussed the village administration which was unitary, very much
autonomous in the hands of local headmen, the Panchayat [ the council of five] or big
landlord. The village life , however, centred around people practicing different
professions.
The professions include many separate skill based trades---barbering to making cooking
oil from cold-presses with dried oil seeds.Thus barbers were a distinct caste from the oil
makers or oil-grocers. The cobblers who worked with leather formed another caste. There
were finer divisions too…cobblers who made shoes and sandals and those who made
saddles for horses. Thus we can have finer distinctions of castes in a village.
Note that women had certain professions too (besides the oldest profession ) –barber’s
wife acted as midwife for delivering babies. Gardener’s wife made flower garlands and
sold them or offered to the temples. Clay potters formed another caste while metal smiths
making utensils for cooking were another caste. Those who guarded the burial or
cremation grounds were another caste.They had to collect a tax for the local government.
The drummers and town criers were another caste in the employ of local government.
Thus the caste system was extensive with different castes and sub-castes.When we use
the term ‘trader’ or vaisya caste, we may be referring to a host of nearly 20 major
castes---those who trade in gold jewels to those who trade in yarns and textiles and those
who trade in food grains.

Everyone knows that the caste system was rigid and the son of a cobbler invariably
became another cobbler. He may not be permitted to try and learn any other profession.
What is worse, since inter-caste marriages were totally inadmissible, the caste system
became rigid. There were a few instances of such marriages; but the village elders would
excommunicate them or send them away from the village and the parents would disown
them…
The rigid caste system also promoted rigid zones or living quarters or slums for each
caste. Their movements were largely restricted to their own quarters.The temple festivals
were the main events when people of different castes could come together,even then
maintaining some distance between them.
All these aspects of caste system may appear crude and vulgar to a modern mind---it may
even appear as brutal for social progress . But in those times, with limited means of skill
transfer and for smooth functioning of the village life, the caste system was fostered and
endured. It was the caste system that had preserved the traditions and various skills of
different professions, in spite of invasions by foreign hordes and their vandalism.

In earlier times, the caste system was less rigid and flexible to allow marriages of certain
kinds. For instance, a higher caste man can marry a woman of lower caste one step
below.Thus a Brahmin can marry a kshatria [warrior] caste woman and a kshatriya can
marry a girl from traders or vaishyas. [Such concessions were included in the Manu code
of law of ancient times.] I do not know when such laxity was permitted and how long
such practices were encouraged. In Kerala, brahmins or Namboodries did marry nair
women till recent times. There could be property disputes and special laws were made for

17
children born of such union. In kerala, matrilineal system prevailed, the property went to
daughters in the household. Further the informal marriage ,called ‘sambandham’ was
practised in Kerala.Under this system, a high caste person took a lower caste woman as
concubine or informal ‘wife’ and co habited with her.The children would live with their
mothers.The person may have a regular wife from his own caste too.Sambandham may
be a short affair and may be broken easily or may endure for a lifetime.Such flexible
arrangements did provide some mobility among castes.This practice ,however, did not
find favor in other states. It was however common among noble men and courtiers to
have wives from different castes, their finances permitting.

We are told by many elders and historians that the Hindu caste system became more rigid
with the muslim rulers spreading in the Indian sub-continent.The Hindus were strict in
not allowing the system from breaking down. Note that the muslim rulers did not
encourage caste system, but they let the Hindus observe their traditions. It is true that
many families converted to Islam by coercion and also to escape the rigidity of caste
system.

There were certain admirable features in the village hierarchy. Musicians came from
different castes. Though barbers played pipes or drums in temples, other caste people
could take to other instruments or vocal music. The ladies practicing music were
invariably the temple dancers or devadasis [who were despised for their promiscuous
ways];but several other ladies ,including royal women learnt music and dancing.

One safety latch or exit door from the system was to join the army and serve the king.
Since large number of foot-soldiers [infantry] were needed, any able bodied person can
opt for the army life. Note that in medieval times, the casualties were huge; sometimes
10000 to 40000 soldiers would die in a single battle ,that too in a single day. Therefore
there was always need for soldiers ,drawn from different castes.[Soldiering was
attractive for Indian sepoys when the British started building the army under East India
Company banner. They were paid better and lived better than an average peasant]

Synthesis of religious traditions

India is known for religious tolerance and general acceptance of different religions and
their widely differing traditions….It was not just acceptance alone, but a kind of
synthesis of traditions that happened in the Medieval India and later for the next several
centuries. This synthesis happened within Hinduism as well as across religions. While
sufi saints often came with their muslim rulers during raids ,the saints themselves were
venerated. Thus Kwaja Moinuddin Chisti who came to India during the Ghori
Muhammed time, became established as a great saint in Ajmer and his tomb became a
shrine to be visited by several devout Hindus as well. Several such dargas or mausoleums
of Sufi saints are pilgrim centres today.

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Though there were skirmishes between Saivaites [worshippers of Lord Shiva] and
Vaishnavas [worshippers of Lord Vishnu] ,many syncretic sects grew up which
worshipped both gods with veneration. Thus worship of Rama and Krishna, the two
avatars or incarnations among ten avatars of Vishnu, was common to all ,except for a few
extremist sects which were minority..Temples built in this period also reflect this
synthesis…You will find altars or shrines for both the Gods within the same temple. It
should be added that the saints of medieval period, who emphasized devotion or Bhakti
more than scholarship and doctrines ,led the masses away from polemics and exhorted
them to live a life of piety, simplicity and devotional observances with renunciants or
monks forming the religious leaders.. More than any single factor, this synthesis revived
Hinduism after decline for many centuries,weaned away Buddhist and Jains traditions
and strengthened the Hindu society which could stand solid during the moghul rule and
the muslim dynasties in different parts of India.I may also add that in 17th to 20th century,
when the Christian missionaries poured in ,with tacit support from all the British rulers,
they could hardly make a dent into Hindu society…True, a small percent of the Hindu
population, say about 1% ,got converted, often due to financial and social inducements ,
to Christianity. Several beautiful churches, cathedrals and basilicas were built in India.
Even the Hindus respected some of the shrines and visited them on occasions to worship
[for instance ,the church at Velankanni,Tamil Nadu or the Basilica in Mahim near
Mumbai for curative powers of the shrines ], but they remained at heart Hindus only and
continued with their traditions…In fact Mother Mary or Fatima were taken as goddesses
in their fashion who could bestow blessings on the devout Hindus too.

I would only add that this synthesis of religious traditions is something difficult for a
foreigner [especially those penchant on monotheistic Hebrew religious culture] to
understand and appreciate unless he lives in India for a considerable time, say a few
years.
What is more, this synthesis has even led some Christian fathers ,especially of Catholic
faith , to adopt some of the methods of worship and rituals of Hindus and incorporate
them in their modes of worship, with lamp as an icon of worship and ‘om’ as a symbol
for chanting.!!
Sufism ,as such ,spread in India from 10th century. Kwaja Chisti of Ajmer is supposed to
be the early founder of a Sufi order in India.Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi established this
cult and trained Sufi masters who fanned out throughout India. Many later day saints in
15th and 16th centuries, were devout Hindus and Sufis at the same time. A notable
example is Sant Kabir , who was initiated into Sannyas or monkhood by Swami
Ramananda , a Vaishnava saint in the holy city of Benaras, but nevertheless was an
iconoclastic Sufi master. Now a sect ,called Kabir panthis exist, who have synthesized
Sufism with Hindu traditions….Such examples are numerous.

Summary
Medieval India was a period of prosperity,peace and stability in the sub-continent.
Hinduism flourished again with growth of Bhakti [devotional] movements , with
religious fervor spreading among the common folk ,in local languages. It was a period
of economic growth and stability with marine adventures and trade with other countries.

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Art, education and science were well developed ,suited to the needs and cultural
moorings of its people. All these attracted muslim and later European conquerors in
large numbers to usurp lands , plunder its coffers and establish suzerainty over the meek
and humble local population, with less political cohesion.
In contrast, medieval Europe was largely feudalistic ,with very little education and
widespread bigotry based on religion and obscure superstitions and witchcraft.

References
1 The Cholas – K A Nilakanta Sastry
2 A history of South India – K A Nilakanta Sastry [Oxford Univ Press]
3 James Burke – The Day the Universe changed—Little,Brown and
company,Boston1985
4 The Story of Mankind –Hendrik Wilhem Vanloon-Pocket books—
5 A L Basham—The wonder that was India—Oxford Univ press
6 Jawaharlal Nehru --- The discovery of India --Allen & Unwin,London
7 Medieval Europe—Time-Life books
8 H G Wells –A history of the world
9 Stanley Wolpert—History of India…
10 Abraham Eraly—The last spring-The lives and times of the great Mughals
11 Abraham Eraly--- Tales once told—legends of Kerala ---Penguin books

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